BLOGMAS #12: CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS
- Dec 12, 2016
- 3 min read
Christmas traditions are a bit more fluid for me, in part because I've been a child of divorce since I was two years old, and in part because I'm still relatively new to Mallerie's family. In just our second Christmas together, we are still learning what each of us values, but there are a few traditions which we both have good fun with. You may notice a theme: all of our favorite traditions are kid-centered. Sure, we do things for each other, too, but we're both most concerned with making sure the littles have a blast during the holiday season!
Elf on the Shelf
Yes, this is easily one of the creepiest Christmas traditions out there, and one of the hardest to leave behind. After all, you can't just do Elf on the Shelf until your oldest stops believing in Santa; you've got to keep things going until the littlest little is ready for the truth. In our house, that means we've got a solid 8 more Christmases to come up with ideas. That's 200 more mysterious elf capers. Holy Christmas balls! Luckily, Mallerie is pretty creative with those sorts of things, and she's even established a few traditions within the tradition, like the yearly Tic-Tac-Toe tournament between the elves!
Christmas Eve Goodies
This seems like a fairly pervasive tradition. Sure, families vary in exactly what goes down on Christmas Eve, but most have specific plans for the night before Christmas each year. For us, sundown means that everyone gets new Christmas pajamas and settles in to watch a special Christmas movie. Rather than watch the same movie every year, or a Christmas-themed movie, we watch the movie our littles most loved throughout the year. This year, we'll be watching Finding Dory.
Gingerbread Houses
My girls were too little to participate in this tradition last year, but they're three years old and it's time to trust them with the decorative gum drops. Mallerie and I snagged a sweet little Christmas village, as well as a gingerbread camper, so every kid will get their own house to build. We'll definitely be capturing the antics on film, so check back later in the month for a few pictures!
Decorating the Tree
This is another tradition that many families seem to have: let the littles decorate the tree (and then fix it later if you're a bit anal retentive). We got some fantastic video decorating the big tree downstairs, the table-top tree upstairs, and Mimi's tree. Though the tradition wore a bit thin by the time they decorated the third tree, the kiddos were good sports and helped their favorite grandma get her tree ready for the holidays. I was especially happy to take part in decorating my mom's tree with the kids, as I have so many fond memories decorating my grandma's tree with the other kids growing up. Chalk this up as one of the few traditions that has stayed with me for as long as I can remember.
Visiting Santa
This was easily the most contentious tradition last year. I was adamant that my kids not take part in the great lie that is Santa Claus. I had zero intention of ever letting my girls believe that a jolly old man crept into the house while we slept and left presents for everyone. Hell no. That's terrifying. Enter Mallerie and her damned logic. It didn't take long for her to help me see that I wouldn't just be impacting my daughters, but all the kids in the house and all the kids they went to school with. So, yes, this is a tradition of conformity and peer pressure. I recognize and accept that. Hopefully, though, we can get a picture of all the kids this year. Last year, Molly was absolutely terrified and clung to my arms when we tried to introduce her to the man of the hour.
What are your holiday traditions? Sound off below!
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